Oblivious Engagement
by Ilovetoread09
Summary: Rick goes to Tiffany's to buy an engagement ring, but runs into a problem.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Okay, so I've started another story. This one will defiantly not be that long, and it's also a lot fluffier then my last one! Well, I hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Castle.**

Richard Castle looked through the glass case, glancing at the engagement rings behind the glass. His mother had asked him to buy an engagement ring from Tiffany's that would be auctioned off at a charity event Martha was helping at. As Rick browsed, he couldn't help but wonder which one a certain brunette detective would like.

_I'm not even dating her and I'm thinking about which engagement ring she would like. _Rick thought.

When he got to the last row of rings, he saw it. It was a beautiful diamond ring, with a simple silver band. Beside the main diamond were two smaller ones, one on each side.

_It's perfect!_

Rick called the sales clerk over an asked if he could take a closer look at the ring. As he examined the ring, an image flashed through his mind. Him slipping the ring on _her _finger and kissing it. Rick shook his head at the thought. That was something was probably never going to happen. Rick then remembered that his mother had asked to have the ring engraved with some type of romantic phrase. He smiled, knowing exactly what phrase he would want on the ring. After asking the sales clerk to do the engraving, Rick sat in a nearby chair and waited. After a while, the sales clerk called him back over and showed him the ring. After Rick nodded in approval, the clerk placed the ring in a velvet box and put it in the trademark little blue bag.

As Rick turned to leave, he noticed a mound of black hair on the other end of the counter.

_What's Josh doing here?_

Rick contemplated on leaving for a moment, but it was too late. Josh had spotted him and was heading in Rick's direction. Josh set his bag one, right next to Rick's.

"Hey Castle." Josh said, trying to be polite.

"Hello Josh, what brings you here?" Rick asked.

"I'm buying an engagement ring." Josh said, looking a little smug.

Rick's heart dropped at the statement.

"So you're going to propose to Kate then?" he asked quietly.

Josh nodded. "On Saturday."

_That's only two days away! _Rick thought

Rick forced a smile as he said: "Well, good luck then."

Josh just nodded. "So what bring you here?"

"I'm also buying an engagement ring," Rick paused, slightly amused by the shocked and almost…angry expression on Josh's face. It took Rick a moment to realize who Josh thought the ring was for. Josh obviously didn't know Kate well enough to know she would never cheat on anybody. Deciding to ease the tension, Rick continued. "It's for a charity event that my mother is working at. The ring is going to be auctioned off."

As soon as Rick said this, Josh's expression calmed.

"Interesting." was all Josh said. Just then, his pager beeped.

"Well, duty calls. I guess I'll see you around." Josh said.

"Yeah, I guess." Rick mumbled.

Then Josh took his bag and left the store.

After dinner later that night, Rick handed the bag to his mother. Martha lifted the box from the bag and lifted the lid. She smiled as soon as she saw it. As Rick looked at the ring, he frowned.

"It's perfect darling!" she said, but then noticed the expression on his face. "Is there something wrong?"

Rick continued to stare at the ring as he spoke,

"This isn't the ring I bought."

**AN: So, any thoughts? Care to take a guess at what the engraving said? I haven't seen this plot done before, so I decided to try it. Anyway, you know what to do!**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Hey, sorry for long wait. Anyway, please read this before continuing. Due to some issues that have arisen, I ask that no one post my stories on their blog or some other site without my permission. I'm not comfortable with finding out that one of my stories has been posted somewhere else without my permission, whether or not the reason is negative or positive. Also, I promise you that Josh is not a jerk in this story, so I'm sorry if it seemed like that in the first chapter. Anyway, if there are any grammatical or spelling mistakes that I missed, or anyone is acting out of character, please tell me, and I will make sure to avoid it in future chapters. Anyway, here's chapter two.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Castle, ABC does.**

"What do you mean this isn't the ring you bought?" Martha asked.

"Just like it sounds, this isn't the ring I bought." Rick said.

It definitely wasn't the ring he bought. The ring Rick was staring at had a large diamond, probably in the teens carat wise, with a gold band that had diamonds all around it.

"The clerk got the order wrong?" Martha asked, confused.

Rick shook his head. "No, I ran into Josh at the store, we must have gotten our bags mixed up."

"Kate's boyfriend?"

Rick nodded.

"So, what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to get the ring back from Josh, before he proposes."

XXXXXXXXXX

The following morning, Rick made a detour to the hospital before going to the precinct. After taking the elevator to the fourth floor, where the cardiac unit was, Rick made his way to the receptionist.

"May I help you, sir?" asked the petite brunette from behind the desk.

"Yes, is Doctor Josh Davidson in?" he asked.

"He's in surgery right now; would you like me to give him a message?"

"Yes, can you please tell him to call me when he has time?" Rick asked.

"Sure."

After giving the woman his name and cell phone number, Rick left.

Rick stopped at the local coffee shop, getting the usual coffee and bear claw for Kate, before heading to the precinct. Rick walked through the bullpen, saying a quick hello to Ryan and Esposito before heading to Kate's desk.

"Good morning, my dear Detective." He said, setting the coffee and pastry down in front of her.

Kate rolled her eyes, but smiled. "Good morning to you too, Castle."

Castle smiled back in response, before sitting his usual chair. As he stared at Kate, he tried to picture her in a wedding dress and walking down the aisle. He had no doubt she would look beautiful as she walked down the aisle on her father's arm as they walked towards the altar. Rick felt a pang of sadness at the thought that it would never be him that Kate would be walking down the aisle for.

_She could still say no to Josh._ A voice in Rick's head reminded him.

Rick was broken out of his musings by the sound of his phone ringing. The caller ID flashed with a number he didn't recognize, so Rick knew it was Josh. Kate stared at him with a confused expression, but he gave her signal saying that he would be back in a second. Once he was out of Kate's earshot, Rick answered the phone.

"Castle." He answered.

"Hello Castle, it's Josh Davidson, the receptionist said you called." Josh answered on the other end.

"Yes, there's been a bit of a mix-up." Rick said.

"Oh, how so?" Josh asked, clearly confused.

"It seems that we got our rings mixed up when we ran into each other yesterday."

"Oh, okay. I haven't looked at the ring since I bought it."

"So, can you meet me later this afternoon, so that we can trade rings?" Rick asked.

"I'm pretty booked up for the rest for the day. We can meet tomorrow morning though." Josh suggested.

"That sounds good. So what time is good for you?"

"Is eight o'clock fine?"

"Yeah, that's perfect."

"Well, see you tomorrow then." Rick said.

"See you tomorrow." Josh said before hanging up.

As Rick walked back to his seat, Kate looked up from her paperwork.

"What was that about?" Kate asked.

"Oh, mother just needed to ask me something." Rick said.

Kate just nodded before returning back to her paperwork. As Rick sat there, he thought back to the ring Josh had bought. It wasn't something that Kate would like, it was too flashy. Rick knew he couldn't really blame Josh, though. Rick knew that Josh probably did not know Kate as well as he did. As Rick came to this realization, he contemplated something. He knew that Kate would like the ring he bought. He knew Kate was happy with Josh, and Rick didn't want to ruin her happiness.

_Maybe I could let Josh keep the ring._ He thought, but then shook his head.

If he let Josh keep the ring, both of them would be lying to Kate and Rick knew neither of them would want to lie to her. Rick had a feeling that Josh's reaction the day before had more to do with insecurity than him being a jerk. It was understandable, since Kate probably did spend more time with Rick than she did with Josh.

The thought of giving Josh the ring still poked at him, though. Kate's voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Hey, I'm getting hungry. Want to go grab some lunch?" she asked.

"Sure." Rick said.

When the duo exited the precinct, they walked down the block towards a small café on the corner. After they both ordered a sandwich and a drink, they sat down in one of the corner booths.

"So, is everything okay?" Kate asked.

"Yeah, why?" Rick said, confused.

"You're just very quiet today."

"What, a man can't just have his thoughts?' Rick teased.

Kate did her trademark eye roll before responding. "Well, as long as you're sure everything's fine."

Rick waved his hand dismissively, "Yeah, everything's perfectly fine."

For the rest of the time, the two talked about non-important topics, until Kate looked at her watch.

"Come on, we've been gone an hour, we need to head back." She said.

Rick nodded and both of them threw out their scraps before exiting the shop and back to the precinct.


End file.
